Review: Before I Called You Mine

Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

“The way to shape a child’s heart is through love. And the way to shape a child’s mind is through literature. When you read to a child, you accomplish both.”

This was my first Nicole Deese's book and I was pleasantly surprised. The way she describes things in her unique way, for example: He responded with a coo that made my ovaries swoon. - was enjoyable and creates her individual stamp. There was a few sentences like these I reread for the full impact.

Lauren and Josh was individually great (Josh might just be the best unique and lively male character I've read to date and the perfect male specimen on paper - I think he won a place on a few readers' list of "fictional character I would love to date") but even more awesome together. I loved their humor and banter and just how Josh unconditionally and unselfishly supported Lauren - and due to my own little hero's obsession with dinosaurs, I just loved his fascination with them as well.

"Faith in God is what gives our lives purpose.”

The journey Lauren went through was beautifully written, even though there was one point where I felt it a bit dragged out and one decision she made irritated me and didn't make a lot of sense since she had a different revelation a few chapters before. That revelation made me think the ending would go a bit differently, but maybe the author wanted to confuse the reader with this?

I loved the supportive community and lesson of life is not meant to be handled alone. God is there with us as well as provided people in our lives to stand next to us, experience life's ups and down right there with us, and help where required. We sometimes become our own little island, where pride and that picture of the perfect person, keeps us from reaching out to others - either to receive or give help.

Because God’s best for us rarely comes without the stretching, and it’s in those stretching seasons, those periods of complete and utter dependence on God’s faithfulness, that He holds our hearts and molds them into a shape that only He can fill.

A strong contemporary story recommended to fans of this genre.

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About the book:

Lauren Bailey may be a romantic at heart, but after a decade of matchmaking schemes gone wrong, there's only one match she's committed to now--the one that will make her a mother. Lauren is a dedicated first grade teacher in Idaho, and her love for children has led her to the path of international adoption. To satisfy her adoption agency's requirements, she gladly agreed to remain single for the foreseeable future; however, just as her long wait comes to an end, Lauren is blindsided by a complication she never saw coming: Joshua Avery.

Joshua may be a substitute teacher by day, but Lauren finds his passion for creating educational technology as fascinating as his antics in the classroom. Though she does her best to downplay the undeniable connection between them, his relentless pursuit of her heart puts her commitment to stay unattached to the test and causes her once-firm conviction to waver.

With an impossible decision looming, Lauren might very well find herself choosing between the two deepest desires of her heart . . . even if saying yes to one means letting go of the other.

Amazon link to buy

About the author:

Nicole Deese's eight humorous, heartfelt, and hope-filled novels include the 2017 Carol Award-winning A Season to Love. Her 2018 release, A New Shade of Summer, was a finalist in the RITA Awards, Carol Awards, and INSPY Awards. Both of these books are from her bestselling Love in Lenox series. When she's not working on her next contemporary romance, she can usually be found reading one by a window overlooking the inspiring beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She lives in small-town Idaho with her happily-ever-after hubby, two rambunctious sons, and princess daughter with the heart of a warrior.
To learn more, visit www.nicoledeese.com.